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PARIS IN 1870: LETTERS OF 
MARY CORINNA PUTNAM 



REPRINTED FROM THE 



VOL. XXII., NO. 4 JULY, 1917 



,o3 



DOCUMENTS 



[Reprinted from The American Historical Review, Vol. XXII., No. 4, July, 1917.] 

DOCUMENTS 
Paris in 18^0: Letters of Mary Corinna Putnam 

The writer of these letters, Mary Corinna Putnam, was a young 
American lady, daughter of George P. Putnam, the New York pub- 
lisher. At the time when the letters were written, she was studying 
medicine in Paris — the first woman admitted to the ficole de Mede- 
cine — having already been graduated from the New York College of 
Pharmacy and from the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia — 
the first woman graduated from either of those institutions. In 1873 
she married Dr. Abraham Jacobi of New York. She died in 1906, 
after a distinguished career as a physician and a writer on medical 
topics. 

For the opportunity to use these letters we are indebted to Miss 
Ruth Putnam, a younger sister of the writer. Without proving any 
facts of history hitherto unknown, they furnish an additional picture 
of Paris in war-time, sketched from the point of view of a very 
intelligent young American. It is believed that the American reader 
of this day, sympathetic^ — as who is not? — with the present suffer- 
ings of France, will find interest in many passages. A striking letter 
in the same series, intermediate between the first and second of 
those which follow, was printed anonymously in Putnam's Magazine 
for November, 1870, under the title " The Fourth of September in 
Paris, by a Young American ". 

I. 

August 14th, 1870. 
My dearest mother, 

I am rather amused at the tranquility with which you hope that " the 
war will not interrupt my studies ". It will not, — because I have the 
habit of dominating distractions, and following the example of Archi- 
medes at the siege of Syracuse ( ?) of continuing to work on the prob- 
lems in hand though the enemy be at the gates and sacking the city. 
But if moral distraction were sufficient I and my thesis would be no- 
where. Do you realize that it is the first time since the wars of Napo- 
leon that all France has been called to arms? And that there is quite 
as much chance of renewing the programme of 1815 and of seeing the 
Prussians arrive at Paris, as there is of any thing else, certainly a great 
deal more chance than that the French will reach Berlin. People try to 
talk of 1792 and the defense of the frontier, and the bas relief on the 
Arc de Triomphe, and the famous picture from Versailles, are exten- 
sively circulated — But the ominous souvenir of 181 5 is much more dwelt 
upon, and really much more appropriate. If only the second Napoleon 

(836) 



Paris in 1870 : Letters of Mary Corimia Putnam Zt^-] 

could finish like the first, there would be a dramatic fitness in the thing 
which would greatly add to one's enjoyment of it. Unfortunately this 
is by no means certiJn. The Republican party are by no means prepared 
as they should be to avail themselves of the crisis and the opportunity, 
there is really more chance for the Orleanists. The indignation against 
the government which has precipitated France into so causeless a war, 
and then shown such complete incapacity to manage it,— this indignation 
increases every day and has already overthrown the ministry and driven 
the Emperor into an ignominious oblivion. M. Bernutz, physician at the 
hospital,! observed this morning, " II n'y a qu'une seule chose qui puisse 
amener la paix—c'est la decheance de la famille imperiale." And this 
will come, if there are new disasters at the frontier, new suffering in the 
cities, above all, when the unfortunate garde mobile is called into action. 
This garde mobile represents all the young men who have not been con- 
scripted, that is who belong to families able to buy them off, and corre- 
sponds to the 7th regiment on an immense scale. When the law passed 
for the organisation of this body (about two years ago), no one ever 
expected it would be called into action,— the standing army was to suffice 
for all ordinary wars,— and the garde mobile to be an extreme ressource 
in case of invasion. So the senateurs who voted for the war with clap- 
pmg of hands,— and the flock of sheep who represent the "droit" at the 
corps Legislatif —h^d not the faintest idea that therr own sons would 
be called upon to justify their imbecile bravado. I wish it were always 
the old men, the epileptiques and the consumptives that were sent to the 
war, mstead of sacrificing precisely the lives which are of the most value 
to themselves and to the state. However, this is a good lesson,— and 
the French richly deserve the consternation into which they are thrown. 
All these bourgeois who for years have been supporting Imperialism be- 
cause It "supported order", and have allowed wretched peasants and 
workmg men to be torn from their homes to be sent to Crimea and Italy 
and Mexico,— have now a chance to see how it works when their own 
famihes and pockets are touched. But the lesson is not yet severe 
enough for them to act upon it. They will wait until some thousands 
of the flower of France have been sacrificed to the whim of the imperial 
master, before they will vigorously protest. Many people admit— a few 
proclaim— that did the people of France sieze the reins of government 
in their own hands,— declare the Republic,— and then say to the Prus- 
sians, " Messieurs —vous aves fait la guerre a notre feu Empereur Si 
vous avez^ encore affaire avec lui, alles I'attraper, cela ne nous regarde 
pas. Mais depeches-vous de vous en alter de notre sol, et nous ne vous 
chasserons pas. Pourtam—si vous vouliez faire la guerre a la Repub- 
hque, nous sommes prets."—{t is whispered that this would be the most 
effectual way, not only to terminate the war bloodlessly, but with honour 
But the majority, even among the bitterest opposition, hold the ground 
that the Prussians must be chased first, and the account with the Empe- 
ror settled afterwards,— which is insense, for if there is a victory the 
honour will revert to him, his reputation will be saved and his power re- 
established, and if there is a defeat, the whole garde mobile at Chalons 
will be thrown to the front,— to be decimated by the disciplined troops of 
Prussia. For the garde mobile have not the slightest military training 
and could only stand fire if they are supported, as they are to be by the 

iGustave Louis Bernutz (1819-1887), chief physician of the Hopital de la 
Charite. 



838 Documents 

infantry of the Marine. Oh, Humanity, Humanity ! Est il possible que 
tu marcheras jamais, sauf a des coups de fouet! — 

The disorder is immense. Even the medical students are all called 
under arms, — and happy are they who can obtain a place in the medical 
service, — the others are obliged to serve as common soldiers. Nearly all 
my friends are engaged, but fortunately all that I know^ personally are in 
the corps medical. I know of several desertions. It is frightful to 
notice that every one is indignant with the war, and that all these young 
men, from whom one expects martial elan, are Hterally driven like sheep 
into the army. I have expressed much useless indignation at their sub- 
mission, but submission to authority is too ingrained in the hearts of 
Frenchmen for anything but a fever to get it out of them. The day 
that the first news of defeat arrived, Paris was in a regular panic. I 
went upon the boulevards in the evening with Eli Reclus,^ and it was 
curious to see the soldiers stationed with arms, ready to fire upon the 
people. There was much more fear of an insurrection at Paris than of 
the enemy — and the government, which strips the hospitals even of their 
internes, does not hesitate to leave 30 or 40 thousand soldiers at the 
capital, without speaking of the policemen, instead of sending them to 
the frontier, where there is the most urgent necessity to mass troops. 

It is really ridiculous to see how many people, who submit without a 
murmur to this outrage of the government upon two nationalities, and 
allow themselves to be robbed, ruined and heart-broken by such an atro- 
cious war, still keep up the old cry, " May Heaven preserve us from the 
Socialists ! They are coming to destroy our property, our sacred prop- 
erty " ! It is enough to make one sick. No, France is no country to live 
in — in America, whatever our innumerable betises, there is no class of 
people, now that slavery is abolished, who live in a state of chronic fear. 
The war is such an absorbing topic that I cannot write about anything 
else. . . . 

2 Michel-£lie Reclus (1827-1904), ethnographer, the oldest of a brilliant and 
extraordinary family of twelve children of a Protestant minister, with which Miss 
Putnam was on terms of intimacy. Elie, who had already been an exile from 185 1 
to 1855, was in 1871 appointed director, under the Commune, of the Bibliotheque 
Nationale. As such he was later condemned to death ; but he had saved the 
Venus de Milo, and the sentence was commuted to banishment. Elisee, the 
second brother (i 830-1 905), the celebrated geographer and anarchist, is men- 
tioned in the next letter. The fourth, Paul, was at this time an externe in the 
same hospital that Miss Putnam attended. Her description of them, in an earlier 
letter, written when she first made their acquaintance, may be quoted : " The 
elder brother [£lie] is very interesting, a calm, reticent, benign kind of man, 
but one of strong, deep enthusiasm such as you rarely see in Frenchmen, a man 
who glows with the subject he talks about, but never flames. The third [second, 
filisee, " a most ardent abolitionist and admirer of America "] is the very incarna- 
tion of flame. Imagine a man about thirty, rather powerfully made, wearing his 
pantaloons always tucked in his boots, a plush coat, and beautiful brown hair 
streaming on his shoulders, with a brilliant complexion and intensely restless 
eyes, extremely exuberant and witty, and dramatic in every thing he says and 
does, a born poet in fact. He does not please me as much as the other brothers, 
but he is fascinating as if he had stepped out of a romance. The fourth, the 
medical student, is hardly more than a boy, but a charming boy." 



Paris in iSyo : Letters of Mary Corinna Putnam 839 

II. 

Paris, Sept. 15th, 1870. 

My dearest mother: 

I have today received yours of Aug. 27th after passing a fortnight 
without any letter. I think one must have been lost, for you say nothing 
about H.'s return, or his account of his journey, only mention him casu- 
ally as if you had already gone into the other details. 

Before this you will have received at least two, I believe three letters 
from me, giving you an account of things here, and above all of the proc- 
lamation of the Republic. The " Revolution ", as far as any could take 
place at Paris, is now " un fait accompli", and peaceably enough, — as /" 
you already know. We are now preparing vigorously for the threatened 
siege. It is wonderful what a difference there is in things since the fall 
of the Empire. Ten days ago the streets were as quiet, as if no war 
were raging on the frontiers, — all the opposition journals suppressed,— 
every one forced to live upon the lying information dealt out stingily 
from the War Department. Everywhere the silence, inanition, inanima- 
tion, characteristic of a Byzantine Empire, for all Empires resemble 
each other. Now, everything is alive and alert. The streets swarm with 
bataillons of soldiers, — Marine, mobiles, national guard in uniform and 
blouses, — drilling conscientiously and making progress every day — 
marching, — countermarching, to the chant of the Marseillaise and cries 
of Vive la Republique. The Place de la Concorde really looks like a 
theatre, so many separate bataillons de file in the various corners — and 
at every turn in a street, one may be stopped by a crowd, — and find 
the whole avenue illumined by the beautiful glitter of a long line of ser- 
ried bayonets. 

There are said to be 400,000 men in Paris under arms, enough for its 
effective defense. But poor Strasbourg cannot hold out much longer, 
and it will be discouraging to commence the siege after the surrender 
of this brave city. If the Louvre and the Libraries are burned as the 
great library at Strasbourg has been, it will be atrocious. 

Helas, ce n'est plus un miserable petit prince, mais la Republique qui 
regoit le bapteme de feti !^ The order for non-combatants to leave Paris, 
Was, of course, so generail that any one could neglect it who chose to, — 
and, of course, I chose to. So far, my studies have gone on exactly as 
they would have done in any case, — it being the vacation, and my busi- 
ness being to prepare my thesis. I intend to do my best to be all ready 
with my thesis and my examination exactly as if there were no war. — It 
is not at all probable that the war will last until December, and if the 
school opens then I shall have all I need. 

My interest is immense in the events that are passing, especially since 
the Republic, and as far as I myself am concerned, I feel really quite 
ready to die in its defense, especially if in so doing I could help the 
Reclus. I probably shall not do so, however, in the first place because 
I feel that I owe myself as much as possible to you, in the next, because 
as yet there is no way clear by which I could serve the Republic, either 
living or dying. I inquired yesterday at the Ambulance Society if there 
was any place, but they have already 4000 more names than places, so 

3 The allusion is to the somewhat theatrical telegram which Napoleon III. 
sent to the empress after the battle of Saarbriicken, " Louis a regu son bapteme 
de feu" (referring to the presence of the prince imperial on the field). 



840 Documents 

I went back and dug at my thesis, and probably shall stay there, unless 
Elisee Reclus is wounded on the ramparts. No amount of public excite- 
ment would ever interfere with my "pioching",* unless I was called 
upon to do something, and I think in the case of any personal calamity, 
I should " Pioche " with all the more energy. I have such a terror of 
pain, physical or mental, that I never could sit down under it and hear 
it. Resignation has always seemed to me an impossible, and tolerably 
useless virtue. I believe much more in the therapeutical efficacy of coun- 
ter irritation. . . . 

P. 5". You know that any day Paris may be shut in so completely 
that no letters can be sent, — and then you will hear nothing from me 
during the siege. But you need not worry on that account. The danger 
is extremely small for a noncombatant, and Paris is provisioned for two 
months. At the end of that time — if we have not chased the Prussians — 
we shall be forced to capitulate, but I trust in the former alternative, — 
every day's delay adds to our chance. 

III. 

Dec. 26th, 1870. 
My dear Father: 

I have written several times by the balloons, but the bright idea has 
just occurred to me that I might send letters with more security by the 
American Embassy. I think I hear you say, "what an absurdity not to 
have thought of that before ! " But I didn't, so I can only hope that the 
balloon post has been faithful. I hope you will not attribute this shaky 
handwriting to famine, — it is cold, — for I am writing at the Embassy, 
and my hands have been frozen by an hour's walk. We still have plenty 
to eat, barring meat, for which we are on rations. Yesterday, — Christ- 
mas, we concocted a suet pudding, — as a distant simulacrum of a plum 
pudding, — and it was not bad at all, though with a slight flavor of tallow 
candle. In 1814 the Cossacks stupified the Parisians, by precipitating 
themselves upon the tallow candles and devouring them as a luxury, but 
in the invasion of 1870 it may well happen that the dainty Parisian gour- 
mets follow their example. Fighting was renewed on the 21st Decem- 
ber, and the French are now fortifying themselves in the positions newly 
conquered. Everyday we are expecting another affair. The crisis at 
Paris is being sharpened down to a tolerably fine point, but the national 
movement has become so general and vigorous, that even if Paris is 
taken, the war will continue, and I am sure that ultimately we shall suc- 
ceed. Every day identifies more and more clearly the cause of the 
French republic with that for which, the North fought in the war of 
Secession. It is. no longer a war between two standing armies or two 
rival princelets, but between two rival principles, — et il y va du succes 
de I'idee Republicaine dans le monde entier. The recent proclamation 
of Guillaume, and the ridiculous address of the German Parliament in 
which the King of Prussia is crowned emperor of Germany as a recom- 
pense for having decimated the population of the allied states, trench the 
question more and more clearly. I am continually beset with reproaches 
concerning the non-intervention of America, and I confess — however, 
much I approve the policy of non-intervention in European affairs, — I 
should have been prouder of my country had it extended a helping hand 

* Digging. 



Paris in iSyo : Letters of Mary Corinna Putnam 841 

to a cause which is identical with its own, and to a nationality which 
insured the triumph of its own independence. Americans are singularly 
unsympathetic for the French, and take very little pains to inform them- 
selves correctly concerning their affairs. I have just been talking with 
Colonel Hoffman,^ who persists in maintaining an admiration for the 
Empress, — the Countfss of Montijo. . . . 

I shall probably write an article on the Siege of Paris, in which I 
shall insist on certain points that Americans continually lose sight of. 
The most interesting American peculiarity here at present, is their suc- 
cess with the ambulances. It is wonderful, they hardly lose a case, while 
in the French hospitals, almost every one dies. Col. Hoffman has given 
me a card to Dr. Swinburne,^ who directs them, and I intend to visit 
them, and compare the statistiques, possibly for publication. I finish 
my thesis (about) this week. I shall then inscribe for my 5th ex- 
amination. 

Col. Hoffman says that if you write to me, under cover of an envelope 
addressed to him at the American Embassy at London, that I can have 
the answer certainly. If this be so, I am indeed provoked not to have 
tried sooner, for I am very anxious for news from home. . . . 

B Wickham Hoffman of Louisiana, secretary of the American legation. 
6 Dr. John Swinburne of Albany (1820-1889), surgeon-in-chief of the Amer- 
ican ambulance corps in Paris during the siege. 



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